Cabinet.



No. 797,3M. PATENTTJD AUG. 15, 1905. W. N, MERRI'LK GABINET.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 22, 1905.

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Attorneys.

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PATENTED AUG. 15, 1905.

W N. MERRITT.

CABINET.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 22, 1905.

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No. t797,304.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Aug. 15, 1905.

Application filed March 22, 1905. Serial No. 25lfl96.

To all 71/77/0712 it Inn/y concern:

Be it known that .l, VVI'L'LIAM NEAL Munnrr'r. a citizen of the United States, residing at Nocona, in the county of lvlontague and State of Texas, have invented a new and useful Cabinet, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates generally to cabinets, and particularly to one adapted for use by post-offices.

The object of the invention is to facilitate the distribution of rural free-delivery mail and to obviate the necessity of looking through a book or a number of pigeonholes to ascertain a temporary change of address or a request to forward mail along with another persons.

With the above and other objects in view, as will appear as the nature of the invention is better understood, the same consists in the novel construction and combination of parts of a cabinet, as will be hereinafter fully described and claimed.

in the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and in which like characters of reference indicate corresponding parts, there is illustrated one form of embodiment of the invention, capable of carrying the same into practical operation, it being understood that the elements therein exhibited may be varied or changed as to shape, proportion, and exact manner of assemblage, Without departing from the spirit thereof.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a view in elevation of a portion of a cabinet constructed in accordance with the present invention with one of the doors of the pigeonholes shown as open. Fig. 2 is a view in elevation, on an enlarged scale, of one of the compartmentdoors. Fig. 3 is a view in vertical transverse section through one of the compartments.

in making the cabinet any number of pigeonholes may be employed, generally seventytwo, and as each is a counterpart of the other a description of one will serve for all.

The cabinet 1 may be constructed of any suitable i'naterial, preferably of wood, and is divided by vertical partitions 3 and. horizona] partitions l in to any desired in umber of pigeon holes 5, each of which is closed by a door 6. Each pigeonhole is divided by a vertical partition 7 into two divisions, one of which is subdivided by horizontal shelves 8 into three compartments, the shelves being preferably constructed of sheet metal and being held in position by grooves 2), formed, respectively, in the partitions 3 and 7. Each shelf provided at one end with an upturned flange 10, Fig. 3, and at its other end with a downturncd flange 11, the upturned flange serving to prevent any matter contained within the com iartments from being retained when the shelf is drawn out, and the flange '1 1 serving as a handheld to facilitate operation of the shelf.

Displayed upon each of the partitions 4L is the alphabet, which is divided into groups of three letters, with the exception of Y and st r 7 v. .1

A, and are disposed 0\ or each of the pigeonholes. Displayed upon the partitions 2-3 is the alphabet, which in this instance is shown as divided into groups of four letters arranged adjacent to each pigeonholc. Of course the manner in which the letters are glOllllfHl is not essential and may be varied or changed, if found necessary or desirable, as for instance. if there are a fewer number of pigeonholes the number of the letters in each group would be increased, and vice versa.

Upon the outer side of each door is secured in any suitable manner a series of guides '12, which, as shown in Fig. 3, are approximately i -shaped in cress-section and are seciiired in any suitable manner to a back plate 13, which is attached upon the door. These guides may be of any suitable material, preferably of metal, and are designed to receive strips of paper or pasteboard 1 1, upon which are displayeddirectionsrelative to the distri bution of mail-matter, or temporary change of ad dress of a person usually receiving mail at the ol'licc employing the cabinet. For the purpose of illustration the upper strip on the door, as shown in Fig. 2, bears the name of S. W. Dane, and thereafter are fifteen separateinitials, these representing the initials of the men'ibers of Mr. Danes household. This slip will also hear a suitablelegcnd indicative of the route carrying the mail, in this instance Route 3, which indicates that Mr. Danes mail is delivered by rural free-delivery route 3. "W here a change of address is to be observed, slips will be inserted between the guides in alphabetical order. in this instance, as shown in Fig. 2, Adams will appear opposite the letter A on the partitions 3, and Banks opposite the letter B. As shown in the above figure, the slip bearing the name Adams contains the following data: Adams, Sallie at John, St. Louis, Mo, out 1/10/05. This indicates that the mail of these persons is to be sent to St. Louis, Missouri, until the 10th day of January, 1905, when the change of address will cease, at which time the slip will be removed. The slip bearing the name of Banks will have exhibited thereon the following: Banks, John, send out with John Acmas mail. R. F. D. No. 5. This means that John Banks mail is to be sent out along with John Acmas mail, on rural free-delivery route No. 5. Vithin each pigeonhole there will be a printed blank corresponding to the matter contained in the guides on the outside of the door, and these printed slips will be filled out by the person wishing a change of address and be filed away upon the shelves 8 until the time expires, when the slips will be removed from the shelves and stored in the pigeonhole at the left of the shelves for future reference.

The use of the alphabets displayed upon the partitions and i is rapidly to locate a name, to ascertain what disposition is to be made of the mail-matter of a certain person without having to refer to a book or examine the printed slips within the pigeonholes. Thus suppose it be desired to find the name Samuel Jones. The operator would run down the vertical line or letters until the letter J is reached, which would be the first letter of the name, and then transversely across the cabinet until the letter O appears, which is the first vowel in the name, this being accomplished by running down the horizontallydisposed alphabet, and when O is reached there appears the name on the door of the pigeonhole of Samuel Jones.

It will be seen from the foregoing description that by the employment of the cabinet herein described that there will be exhibited in a ready and practical manner all the data relative to the distribution of mail-matter and in such form as to be readily accessible at all times, it being designed that the cabinet will be placed upon a table or other suitable support adjacent to the boxes in which the mail is generally distributed, so that the operator will be enabled at a glance to tell what disposition is to be made of the mail before distributing it.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is l. A, post-office cabinet divided by vertical and horizontal partitions into a plurality of pigeonholes, a door for closing each pigeonhole and provided on its exterior surface with a plurality of guides or holders, the interior of each pigeonhole being divided into two compartments, one of which is subdivided into a plurality of compartments by horizontally-disposed shelves.

2. A post-oflice cabinet comprising a plurality of pigeonholes each closed by a door having on its exterior, a plurality of guides or holders, each pigeonhole' having over it and to one side of it a group of letters to guide the operator in locating a name to determine the disposition to be made of the mail-matter.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my own I have hereto aflixed my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

TVILLIAM NEAL MERRITT.

\Vitnesses:

T. E. Bownus, J. G. CLARK. 

